Danny Gaulden
BBQ List
Shoulder Clod
8/1/01

Gang,
   Since there has been quite a bit of discussion on clods, I've got a
special one coming in on Friday.  Will smoke it Saturday and give a report
back to all of you on the before cooked weight, after cooked weight, actual
yield, temperatures, etc.  Should be fun, since I haven't smoked one in
quite awhile, and when I did, I never ran a cooking test on one.  
   Today is our 26th. anniversary at the DQ, and my 25th. anniversary for
being in the bbq business there.  Been quite a journey, my friends.  Lots of
good times and some hard ones on the way to bbq success, I can guarantee you
that.  However, I look back with a smile on my face and often wonder how I
made it (ha).  I can tell you some stories.  For you that don't know, we are
the only DQ in the world that serves real pit bbq.  So give me a toast today
and wish me a few more good and happy years in this crazy, stresesful, "God,
why did I ever get into this", business.  God Bless.

Danny
www.dannysbbq.com
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Danny Gaulden
BBQ List
Shoulder Clod
8/6/01

Boys & Girls,
   Here's the report on the #114 clod shoulder clod:

Raw weight:  20.3 lbs.
After Cooked Wt:  11.5 lbs. (57% yield, 43% shrinkage).
Actual yield for Serving Table after cooked and trimmed of fat...9.6 lbs.
(47%).
Cooking temperatures: 225-250 degrees with a couple of short term spikes to
265.
Cooking Time: 14 hours, 15 min.
Internal temperature when pulled from pit:  180 degrees.

The clod was very tender and moist.  I used my Forschner roast beef knive to
slice it.  A sharp knife is a must to slice this cut of beef when cooked to
the tender stage.  The connective tissue that connects the two large muscle
groups were very tender and not offensive.  This cut of beef reminds me of a
bottom round and chuck roast combination, for it has a few stringy sections
as well as a lot of solid packed, non stringy sections.  It taste more like
a roast, even though it was smoked for a long time and under constant smoke
most of the time.  However, it had a wonderful rich beefy flavor.  The down
side to me is that it is so thick that good smoke penetration way down deep
is not possible.  Cutting it in half would probably contribute greatly to
the smoke flavor, and I don't think any ill effects would occur from doing
this.  Make sure you have a good pair of heat resistant gloves when removing
this large cut of meat from your smoker, or a very large spatula to slip
under it.  A pizza peel would work great.  Catch you later.

Danny
www.dannysbbq.com
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Danny Gaulden responding to Bigwheel
BBQ List
Shoulder Clod
8/6/01

At 07:11 PM 8/6/01 -0500, you wrote:
>Hey Danny. Now how would this compare profit wise with packer brisket?
>Could a guy make more selling these things than he could briskets?  That be
>comparing the respective wholesale prices..yield..etc.  I figger out the
>math muhself of course..but I think I left my slide rule in my other pair
of
>bib overhauls.


Bigwheel,
   My meat supplier quoted me #114 Clods at $1.14 lb. and Choice IBP
Briskets at .99 lb. for this week.  Considering the yield of a brisket vs.
the bit higher yield of the clod, the real world price per ounce is fairly
close, with the brisket having a slight edge of about .01 cent per ounce.
However, the clod is much easier to slice and work with. 


   >On another note.  Seems like I heard you say one time your pit keeps a
real
>high humidity level cause of the large amounts of meat you do at once.
>Sorta confirming this after a tour of Dickeys..which uses the large
>commercial pits too..not sure of the brand..but it did seem mighty wet in
>there..and the fella swore he didnt use no water. Now would this moist
>environment be something us shade tree Q'ers need to be trying to duplicate
>on our home pits? Like perhaps introducing a water pan on a log burner?
>Notice some of the high dollar cookoff pits use this feature. For instance
a
>person I know got a pit which holds 50 gallons in some type container under
>the cooking grates.  Now I makeshifted and tried this a time or two on
>Fred..and it sure did add some moisture and moderated the temp way to the
>low sides.. but feel like it cut back on the flavor quite a bit..and the
>bark was non-existent.  Whats a mother to do on a deal like this?
>
>bigwheel


The high humidity levels will be hard to duplicate on pits that don't
naturally cook that way.  True, I did once say that cooking large amounts of
meats in the cooking chamber produces much more natural humidity than just
cooking a few pieces. And this is very true.  Ten 10 lb. briskets will
produce about 40 lbs. of moisture in one form or another.  However, the lay
out design of ones pit and its' efficiency is what holds the natural
moisture and humidity in the pit. I know that lots of folks feel that by
being able to attain a cooking temperature of 225-250 degrees with a two log
fire in an 8 ft long pit is quite a feat.  However, my pit attains this
also...but the cooking chamber is about 2 1/2 to 3 times larger.  Now that's
efficiency, and it makes a big difference in retaining the humidity in the
cooking chamber.  Why?  Because a fire that small in a cooking chamber that
large has a very low air draw (draft) throught the pit and stack, therefore
allowing the humidity and moisture to stay in there and play with the meat a
lot longer.  Plus the draft doesn't just go from one side to the other,
pounding the meat with the hot draft, like most off-set rigs.  In my store
pit, the air draft goes to the top of the pit, then rolls forward to the
front doors, then out the bottom.  It operates on the down-draft principle.
The meat is, in a way, circled in a halo of heat and smoke.  I call it a
soft heat vs. the harsher heat flow of a lot of pits.  One can add a water
pan to their pit, and it certainly doesn't hurt anything.  However, I've
seen it do absolutely no good in most off-set wood burning pits because the
hot air draft travels straight through the pit and up the stack, carrying
the humidity from the water pan with it. It just doesn't have enough time to
hang around long enough to do any good, plus it's path is too direct and
simple.  

Being able to hold onto the natural humidity that is created by the meats is
the real secret, vs. trying to artificially create it.  It's by far the best
way.  That way, you create a naturally beautiful, tasty bark, a great meat
texture, and superb flavor.  

Danny
www.dannysbbq.com


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BBQ List
Danny Gaulden
Shoulder Clod
7/20/01

Tom,
   Clods are very good to bbq.  I recommend the No. 114 whole clod (more
flavorful).  Best size clod to use is 15 to 18 lbs. out of a 600 to 700 lb.
carcass.  Cook just like you would a brisket...225-250 degrees at cooking
grate.  Cook till fork tender, which should take anywhere from 10 to 14
hours. They can be sliced or chopped, or one can do a combination of both
with this large cut of beef.  

danny
www.dannysbbq.com

 